Hidden Persuaders

Kaldor City #3

by Jim Smith, Fiona Moore

"Nothing is yet known of the terrorists' demands, but Security remain poised to act instantaneously on any information received."

Terrorism is on the increase and-- amidst a media frenzy-- hostages are being taken. The Church of Taren Capel are fighting back and nobody in Kaldor City is safe. Who is behind the cult's remarkable success, and what is their next target? Most importantly, when it comes to politics, who really has the most to gain?

Kaldor City - Hidden Persuaders uses characters and themes that appear in Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a gripping tale of corruption and media manipulation.

Genres: Science Fiction

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Jim Smith, the laziest (yet still professional) teacher in town, is a head of school, education consultant, Independent Thinking Associate, speaker and bestselling author.

Reviews

[Leila Anani · Rating 4 out of 5]

So in terms of timeline, this one's a direct sequel to Chris Boucher's Robots of Death sequel novel 'Corpse Marker' - We begin with Uvanov & Landerchild attending the funeral of ex-First-master Pitter, and neither seem too cut up about it. The main plot centres around Blayes (whom we met in Death's Head) she's defected it would seem and has joined a band of Tarenist terrorists about to attack an oxygen plant. Uvanov is further hindered by the fact that he's had to take on Cotton (Brian Croucher) as his bodyguard whilst Iago takes a leave of absence, ostensibly to visit his sick mother....

Weakest thing about this one is the plot and trying to get your head around who's working for whom. Just who's side is Blayes really on? I'm still uncertain... Uvanov believes she's working for him, Landerchild thinks she's working for him, the Tarenists think she's working with them and behind it all.... psycho-strategist Carnell though he definitely seems to be slipping....

The highlight is character (and performance). Massive Paul Darrow fan and he is awesome here. Iago's interaction with Uvanov is priceless - I love the scene where he asks for leave of absence for compassionate leave and Uvanov calls him the least compassionate man he's ever met:

"You'd shoot an orphan in the face to win at musical chairs during a children's tea party"

Brian Croucher is at his funniest yet as Cotton follows Iago's schedule to the letter - which happens to include screwing Justina (for at least 30 minutes) - Her reaction when she opens the door and finds Cotton is comedy gold.

It's astonishing how sympathetic Iago is as a character - I mean this guy shoots innocent hostages, goes awol to assassinate someone who's pissed him off, has sex pencilled into his daily schedule and yet.... you can't help but root for him. Partly it's the voice and maybe a little bleed through from Avon - but it's also his wit and ruthlessness pitted against the villainy of the other characters. Writing is excellent!

If you like character, dialogue, dark intrigue and manipulation you should definitely check out this series. It is super involved but personally I loved it.

[David Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third Kaldor City audio gets us more deeply into the counterplotting. That this society still runs is amazing, given the amount of assassination, brutal police tactics, and personal destruction that seems normal in it. The society is like the Italy of the Medici's and Borgia's gone into hyper-kill mode. Still, it is a thrilling ride, and the actors keep the pace up well.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidden Persuaders is a great little story that adds another layer to Kaldor City. With enough twists and turns to keep you entertained, this serial is a return to form for the series as a whole, and it moves the overall plot forward.

The acting is still top-notch. The sound design is another aspect that deserves some praise.